I loved the idea behind this book. Cooking schools and competitions are two things I rarely read about. I'm a total reality TV junky, and I love to cook! The idea of a group of teens fighting for the same scholarship was super exciting, I understood why each person would be working hard to win.

However, there just wasn't enough tension, or interesting cooking for me. The story really glossed over the food aspect (aside from too many melting butter visuals) and focused on the emotional side of Lane's experience. While the emotional aspects of the contest are important, stress, disappointment, competitiveness, home sickness, sabotage are all petty weighty issues, but if that was going to be the full focus of the story it needed more depth. We only see the situation from one character, Lane. and she comes off as cold, standoffish and not very nice for most of the story. Lane also seemed the least committed of the people there. She could have been cooking nonstop, or at least spending less time thinking about attacking or hooking up with Reid. There was so little development of Andrew, who I guess is supposed to be the main villain of the story, or of Will and Riya. Those two are pretty much defined by their relationship to each other and not much else. I didn't hate the book, I just found it very middle of the road. Also enemies turned lovers is not easy to pull off, it often it comes off feeling like an unhealthy relationship.

This book was good YA fluff. I originally was interested in this on Netgalley because it was set around a cooking competition and it seemed like it would something a little different because really, there is only some much dystopian YA you can read at a time!
In terms of plot line, there really isn't anything new or surprising here but I definitely liked the characters overall. Carter was actually my least favorite character because her emotions and reactions were a little over the top for me. I did really like Riya and Will and appreciated the diversity represented in the different characters. Yay for diverse representation and also talking about consent! Big props to the author for including the piece about consent.
One aspect of this that I really enjoyed was the descriptions of the food and the talk about food. That to me was probably a highlight of what is otherwise straight YA fluff. I felt like the author actually did a wonderful job highlighting the food and making the read take the cooking competition seriously. I definitely felt like I was in the kitchen with the contestants and found my mouthwatering at the descriptions of some of the dishes. It was also awesome to see kick ass female characters succeeding in this space.

Overall, I liked this book but probably wouldn't read it again. It is great if you are looking for an easy, simple, quick beach read.

Hell's Kitchen meets

Carter Lane has wanted to be a cook "forever", when she is accepted into the Savannah Institute for Culinary Arts and a competition for a full ride scholarship, she knows this is her chance. After the first competition a rivalry is develops between her and Reid Yamada. Does she hate him? Does she like him? Their chemistry heats up the pages as much as the delicious food they are cooking. Does she have what is takes to win?

I really loved this book. I like the chemistry between Reid and Carter, the camaraderie between Carter and her roommate, and all the small references to different subjects throughout the book. I also love how the cover blended in with the book. The only thing that bothered me was how Carter some times acted, but she is young, abrasive, and emotional and I could definitely relate to most of her behavior.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary Netgalley copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Maybe 2.5 stars

I really liked the food competition/cooking aspect. It's a hobby not covered as much and it was super entertaining. There was also some pacing issues (awkward time jumps, etc) throughout the book. It didn't really help the story build or connect with the characters. Speaking of characters, I wasn't really a fan of Carter. I didn't like how she reacted to most things and I think she came off selfish a lot of the time. I did like Reid but I don't feel like I got a lot of him besides some surface level mentions. The other characters were good tertiary characters but they didn't really add anything to the story.

I liked this book, it was a super adorable, quick read! Just what I needed.

This book is so refreshing, you cannot help but love the drama.
Carter gets in invite to vie for a scholarship in one of the places she longs to earn her mark as a Chef. Whilst there, her first run in with Reid, sparks a rivalry and it's all about who's going to come up top.
While, their back and forth made for more details to the story, I would say that I found it a bit too dramatic. What I loved was the author's use of gender neutral names: Carter and Reid, who would have thought?
Remember me starting off by saying that this book is refreshing, well, after a night conversation with Reid, Carter storms back to her room and tells her room mater, Riya It's just...he's been a total asshole to me. Riya, smirks and she asks Do I need to kill a boy?
I can relate to that and wouldn't mind having Riya for a room mate. The girl's a great listener, has lots of confidence, makes friends easily and she can cook...who wouldn't live for that?
The other thing that I loved in this book was a conversation between Reid and Carter. I love when two glorious things happen in any book I am reading:
1. If I come across the mention of Kenya or Nairobi.
2. If the characters mention an author or book that I absolutely love.
Well, Reid and Carter talk about N.K. Jemisin and at the mention of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms I nearly fell off my bed.
This is the part where I also graciously add that I got to read this as a digital copy, thanks to Netgalley, and there tiny request was that I share my honest- real-down to earth- views about it. Now, I'd better get back to work. It's almost lunch time and I do wish I'd get some of the duck they made in this book for lunch!

Loved the setting and the cooking school competitors. I especially loved Riya and Reid of course! I wish I liked Carter (the MC) more- her inner monologue was really repetitive and I didn't always understand how her emotions jumped around so quickly (and i say this as an extremely moody, anxious, emotional person). The way she reacted to stuff surprised me and threw me off a bit. But l did like the talks about consent and there was a lot of racial and LGBQ representation amongst the characters. A cute read but with some things that bothered me that kept it from being a favorite.

YA contemporary AND a cooking theme? Yes please! The Art Of French Kissing was definitely a perfect match for that particular moment. Sure, it’s a bit cheesy and there are quite a few cliches involved. Sure, there is a lot of romance involved that you can see coming from a mile away. BUT. Somehow, I didn’t care about that at all. The Art Of French Kissing is easy to read, cute and there is a LOT of food talk involved, Basically, this book makes me crave all kinds of delicious food! Including those fabulous macarons on the cover… The writing is very engaging and sets the right atmosphere for this cooking competition. The plot is simple, but very effective and fans of cooking shows or food in general will be in for a treat. As for the characters… The whole hate/revenge theme is actually quite entertaining and it was interesting to see the characters evolve over time. The ending was a bit too neat for me, but then again I also admit it does fit the story.

If you like fun, light, cute, slightly cheesy and entertaining YA contemporaries with a healthy dose of romance, you will be in for a treat with this one. The Art Of French Kissing incorporates the whole cooking competition theme very well and all that food talk is probably one of the reasons I loved this book the way I did. The bantering and revenge element between the main characters worked better for me than I thought it would, and definitely added it’s own spice to the plot. The Art Of French Kissing doesn’t lack sugar either, as it has a healthy dose of (cheesy) romance especially in the second part. But at that point I was having so much fun following the competition, that the story was mostly forgiven for it. All in all this story was just what I was looking for!

*i was sent this ebook from netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
The Art of French Kissing was a 3.75 read for me. I loved the characters ( for the most part) and was really impressed with the diversity that Brianna put into the book. The setting of The art of French Kissing was extremely unique to me since I don’t normally see many books focused on cooking. I really enjoy watching cooking shows and hoped that this would be a five star read for me. Unfortunately, the relationship between Reid and Carter really took away from the story for me. I hated how mad she got over the tiniest things that he did and that she couldn’t let anything go. Their entire relationship rubbed me wrong and I believe that without it being included the book would have been so much better. Overall, I really enjoyed my time reading The Art of French Kissing and will definitely be reading more books by Brianna Shrum in the future.

What a fun idea for a book. I loved the setting in Savannah at a summer cooking completion for scholarship funding to be able to attend the cooking school after high school graduation. The stakes felt real and relatable. I enjoyed the characters, their different backgrounds, and their different culinary strengths. The drama at the end felt like a bit much, but overall this was a fun read that also made me ready to jump into the kitchen to cook.

This is an adorable story. Food and romance is the best combination in the story. I love the banter between Reid and Carter.

I was really impressed by this book. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew that it would probably be cute, fun, and that it would involve cooking. It was all of those things, but also so much more. The characters seem real and they’re likeable, even when they’re acting like jerks. The competition is interesting, even for someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy cooking (I love eating though). There is also an undeniable chemistry between the two main characters and it gave me so. many. feelings. I do wish that there had been a bit more about Carter’s friends and family, because these parts seemed a bit rushed and I would have liked to know more about them. Carter and Reid are also a bit annoying at the end and I kind of wanted to slap them both, but I quickly got over it. I’d definitely recommend this novel!

Carter Lane is desperate to win a cooking contest that could net her a full ride scholarship to the cooking school of her choice. Problem is, so is everyone else in the contest, and Reid Yamada has her singled out from the start as the one he needs to get rid of...or so it seems. Fierce competition, fast friendships, and oddball challenges from the judges, whittle the group down week after week. And as the group gets smaller, Carter's respect for (most of) the others increases, even toward Reid. Is she good enough to compete with the others and win?